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Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Thursday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 4pm Saturday 9am - 4pm Sunday 9am - 4pm

Queensland Museum Tropics

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Townsville, QLD
Queensland Museum Tropics

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Share your experience Welcome to Queensland Museum Tropics. Discover the natural and cultural heritage of North Queensland. museum.qld.gov.au/tropics
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The museum houses permanent and changing exhibitions and also provides in-depth education experiences, innovative public programs, early childhood activities and entertaining holiday activities. Behind the scenes, the museum is home to thousands of objects, specimens and artefacts that tell the changing story of Queensland.

08/11/2026

This is what measuring a 1.5km-long coral looks like 🌊
12 dives needed 🤯
As long as around 100 buses parked end-to-end. 🚌🚌🚌
36.5 metres wide, covering around 56,940 m² which is more than three MCG playing fields.
The question is whether this actually one giant coral colony or many colonies that have grown and merged together over time?
Genetic testing may reveal the answer. 🧬

05/11/2026

Want to know more about the Melibe japonica nudibranch spotted here in the Townsville Marina recently?

We asked our researchers about this eye-catching species that caught everyone's attention.

Have you seen it swimming on the surface?

Nudibranch Videos:

04/11/2026

Teachers and Home Educators: Encourage your students to discover the wonders of Earth and beyond! 🌍🪨👩‍🚀
In our upcoming FREE Earth & Space Sciences online professional development workshop, discover a range of engaging resources adaptable for Years P–10 (ages 5 to 15).

• Rock formation and ancient environments
• The properties of stone tools
• How fossils are formed and found
• The planets of our solar system
• Stomp rocket design challenge

Register now and log on Thursday 12 November, 3:30–4:30pm → https://bit.ly/Queensland-Museum-Online-PDs

03/11/2026

World Jellyfish Day 🪼

They’ve been floating around for millions of years - from tiny drifters in the shallows to mysterious giants of the deep, jellyfish come in all shapes and sizes.

Beautiful, ancient and sometimes painful, these ocean wanderers are a reminder to stay safe during stinger season in Queensland. Take a look at some beautiful images captured by Queensland Museum photographer, Gary Cranitch.

📸Undescribed sea jelly, Olindias sp.
📸Hydromedusae Jellyfish
📸Bluebottle, Physalia sp.
📸Clear Jelly
📸Unknown jelly of the Hydromedusae family
📸Fire Jelly, Morbakka fenneri
📸Undescribed sea jelly, Olindias sp.
📸Trevally, Caranx sp., juvenile in jellyfish

01/11/2026

Thanks for the inspiration Burke Museum. We scoured our collection for strange labels too!

Calling on our Aussie museums to join the trend. We wanna see your unhinged labels!

Melbourne Museum
Australian Museum
South Australian Museum
WA Museum Boola Bardip
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

30/10/2026

🦐🥊 This Halloween, meet the ocean’s hardest hitter — the Mantis Shrimp!

With the fastest punch in the animal kingdom and incredibly complex eyes, this is one creature you definitely can’t outrun… or hide from 👀

This specimen in our collection measures an impressive 33 cm, while some species grow up to 40 cm long! I wouldn't want to mess with this guy!

29/10/2026

Museums and teachers go hand in hand — both open minds, spark questions and inspire lifelong learning.

This World Teachers’ Day, we thank all teachers and educators, including our programming staff for helping people of all ages discover the world in new ways.

26/10/2026

The wonderful Year 3 Townsville Grammar School students enjoyed an exciting night at the museum ‘camp’ experience!

This one-night sleepover sees students set up ‘camp’ in the Great Gallery, make amazing memories with their classmates, discover new hands-on activities, and experience the museum in a completely new way.

Learn more about our education experiences: https://bit.ly/4BnlaOp

25/10/2026

Grandparents + grand kids + museum = a wonderful day out! 🥰

Today is Grandparents Day, the museum is open for curious adventures for the young, and young at heart 🫶

24/10/2026

🪲 It’s a Halloween nightmare! Flesh-eating beetles stripping the body of a road-killed snake. These ravenous scavenger beetles, a species of Phaeochrous, were filmed at Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park on Cape York Peninsula.

Like in all good horror movies, they emerge at night to feast on carrion, the
flesh of dead animals.

Most likely the same beetles reportedly reduced a pig carcass to a cleaned skeleton in only eight days near Longreach. Now that’s a trick and a treat!

Address

70-102 Flinders Street
Townsville, QLD
4810

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm
Saturday	9am - 4pm
Sunday	9am - 4pm

Telephone

+61747260600

Website

https://www.museum.qld.gov.au/tropics

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